Sarah Davis, Republican candidate running for re-election in the Texas House, stands with Hunter Hughes, as she campaigns near her home precinct at the Colonial Park Recreation Center on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in West University Place. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )

Sarah Davis, Republican candidate running for re-election in the Texas House, stands with Hunter Hughes, as she campaigns near her home precinct at the Colonial Park Recreation Center on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012,

State House District 134 Rep. Sarah Davis thanks her supporters Tuesday night during her watch party at The Meridian in Houston. The incumbent got attention for breaking ranks with the GOP in her first term.

State House District 134 Rep. Sarah Davis thanks her supporters Tuesday night during her watch party at The Meridian in Houston. The incumbent got attention for breaking ranks with the GOP in her first term.

The race featured two attorneys, both cancer survivors, vying for a high-profile seat that cuts across southwest Houston and Bellaire. The largely upscale district, which encompasses the Texas Medical Center and Rice University, became more favorable to Republicans last year after the Legislature tweaked its boundaries. But many believed the seat was in play in part because voters there showed weak support for Gov. Rick Perry in 2010.

It didn't turn out that way. Davis, 36, credited the district's conservative values, especially with respect to fiscal policy.

"And that's the platform I ran on," said Davis, who ousted Democratic incumbent Ellen Cohen in the tea party-driven Republican sweep of 2010.

It was her first run for any office.

The openly lesbian Johnson, 38, said her campaign had a positive effect even in defeat.

"We still won part of the goal," Johnson told her crowd of mostly young supporters. "I know that we actually changed the conversation."

In the closest House race of the day, favored Democrat Mary Ann Perez claimed a hard-won victory over Republican David Pineda in District 144, which includes Pasadena and many of the region's petrochemical workers. Perez, chair of the Houston Community College board of trustees, replaces the late Ken Legler, a Republican who died not long after announcing he would not seek re-election. She will have to resign her HCC position.

Incumbent Hubert Vo breezed to a fifth term in District 149 in west Houston over Dianne Williams, a retired teacher. Likewise, Democrat Gene Wu easily beat M.J. Khan, a former Houston City Council member, in the race to succeed the retiring Scott Hochberg in District 137.

With only one session under her belt, Davis has received attention for her party-breaking opposition to proposed rules that would prohibit doctors in the Texas Women's Health Program from discussing abortion with their patients. She also broke ranks to vote against legislation that requires a woman to have a sonogram before receiving an abortion, but then voted to cut funding for state-subsidized contraception and cancer screenings.

Republicans held a record 101 state House seats for the 2011 legislative session after benefiting from a huge GOP landslide in the 2010 election. No political experts expected them to hang on to their super majority, especially after redistricting resulted in boundary changes benefiting Democrats. Experts predicted Democrats would pick up about five House seats.

"There's still going to be a durable, strong Republican majority in the House with 90-plus seats, and the House will remain a conservative institution as it has been for quite some time," Republican consultant Eric Bearse said.